Juridical-Psychological Etudes on the Teaching of Religion in Schools in Albania

Abstract

Religion and politics have consistently gone through a tough relationship. The public debate on religion repeatedly gives the idea of being a "sterile debate", since knowing or coming up with the absolute truth is almost impossible when it comes to religious-civil power-state institutions and religious institutions. Much worse concerns clashes between civilizations and religions worldwide, with bloody conflicts still on the rise nowadays. Hence, the topic on religion must never be underestimated, and yet, never overestimated as well. Precisely, this article conducts a dual-track analysis, on one hand, the possible constitutional admissibility of teaching religion in schools, and on the other, the empirical analysis aimed at collecting data on the opinion of parents, teachers, and school psychologists regarding the inclusion of religion-related subjects in school curricula. The small sample used for semi-structured interviews emerged as having opposing viewpoints about whether or not religion should be incorporated in school curricula. This paper focuses on the topic of religiosity, wrapped up in its own veil of mystery, and it affects the innermost angle of human beings. The relationship with the divine does not allow anyone to touch what is revered just for existing. For these and other reasons, this issue is constantly complex to deal with, but at the same time, it is overrun by hues that modern jurists must grasp and give real value to constitutional principles that keep a democratic society alive, capable of including rather than excluding anyone.

Received: 2 January 2023 / Accepted: 01 March 2023 / Published: 5 March 2023